Karzai at ‘end of the rope’ in deaths

Says US not aiding massacre inquiry

KABUL - President Hamid Karzai chastised the United States on Friday, saying he was at “the end of the rope’’ over what he termed the United States’ lack of cooperation in investigating the US soldier accused of going on a rampage earlier this month and killing 16 civilians in southern Afghanistan.

A senior US official and the suspect’s lawyer on Friday identified the soldier as Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales of Lake Tapps, Wash. American officials had previously refused to release his name, saying it is military policy to publicly name a suspect only after he has been charged.